To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 31 quiz

Questions and answers

1. 1

   Question 1. What does Boo Radley do when Scout takes him to see Jem in his bedroom?

   • He speaks to Jem quietly
   • Correct answer: He gently strokes Jem's hair
   • He places a blanket over Jem
   • He stands in the doorway and watches

   Boo reaches out with a tentative hand and strokes Jem's hair, revealing his deep but shy attachment to the children he has watched over for years.

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2. 2

   Question 2. How does Scout walk Boo Radley home?

   • She asks Atticus to walk along beside them both
   • She walks a step ahead and lets him follow her
   • She runs ahead to open the Radley front gate
   • Correct answer: She slips her hand into the crook of his arm

   Scout takes Boo's arm so it appears he is escorting her like a gentleman, preserving his dignity rather than making him look helpless.

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3. 3

   Question 3. Why does Scout choose to take Boo's arm rather than his hand?

   • Correct answer: To preserve Boo's dignity in front of neighbors
   • Because she is still a little afraid of him
   • Because it is too dark to see the sidewalk
   • Because Aunt Alexandra told her to act like a lady

   Scout instinctively understands that taking his hand would make Boo look like a child being led, while taking his arm makes him look like a gentleman escorting a lady.

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4. 4

   Question 4. What does Scout do before leaving the Radley porch?

   • She waves across the street to Miss Stephanie Crawford
   • She knocks on the front door to thank him once more
   • Correct answer: She stands and sees the neighborhood from Boo's perspective
   • She leaves a gift for Boo in the knothole of the oak

   Scout stands on the Radley porch and imagines seeing the street, the children playing, and the events of the novel as Boo would have seen them from behind his shuttered windows.

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5. 5

   Question 5. Which of the following does Scout NOT imagine seeing from Boo's porch?

   • The fire at Miss Maudie's house
   • Correct answer: Tom Robinson's trial
   • The seasons changing in the neighborhood
   • Children playing in the yard

   Scout imagines neighborhood scenes Boo could have observed from his windows—children playing, the fire, the changing seasons—but the trial took place at the courthouse, not visible from the Radley porch.

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6. 6

   Question 6. Does Scout ever see Boo Radley again after walking him home?

   • Yes, he visits the Finch house the next day
   • Yes, she sees him through his window
   • Correct answer: No, she never sees him again
   • The novel does not say

   After Boo goes inside the Radley house, Scout states that she never sees him again. Their farewell on the porch is permanent.

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7. 7

   Question 7. What book is Atticus reading by Jem's bed when Scout returns home?

   • Tom Swift
   • One Man's Family
   • Ivanhoe
   • Correct answer: The Gray Ghost

   Atticus is reading The Gray Ghost by Seckatary Hawkins, a children's adventure book that parallels the novel's themes about misjudging others.

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8. 8

   Question 8. In The Gray Ghost, what do the characters discover about Stoner's Boy?

   • Correct answer: He was "real nice" when they finally saw him
   • He was Three-Fingered Fred in disguise
   • He had been a ghost haunting the clubhouse
   • He really had thrown ink all over the clubhouse

   Scout drowsily tells Atticus that Stoner's Boy, who was feared and chased, turned out to be "real nice" once they actually met him—mirroring her experience with Boo.

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9. 9

   Question 9. What is the last line of dialogue in the novel?

   • "Sleeping peacefully. He won’t be awake until morning."
   • Correct answer: "Most people are, Scout, when you finally see them."
   • "Go to bed, Scout. You’ve had a long day."
   • "Honey, I don’t know. Just picked it up."

   Atticus responds to Scout's comment that Stoner's Boy was "real nice" with this line, which serves as the novel's final thematic statement about empathy and understanding.

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10. 10

    Question 10. Which lesson from earlier in the novel does Scout fulfill by standing on the Radley porch?

    • Correct answer: You never know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them
    • Conscience is the one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule
    • Real courage is starting when you know you're licked before you begin
    • It is a sin to kill a mockingbird because they only make music for us

    Atticus taught Scout this lesson in Chapter 3. By standing on Boo's porch and seeing the world through his eyes, Scout literally fulfills her father's instruction about empathy.

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11. 11

    Question 11. How does The Gray Ghost serve as a literary device in the final chapter?

    • It contrasts Jem's boyish taste in books with the law books Atticus prefers
    • It provides comic relief to ease the tension after Bob Ewell's attack on the children
    • Correct answer: It parallels Boo Radley's story and reinforces the theme of misjudging others
    • It distracts Scout from her fear so that she can forget the night's events

    The story-within-a-story mirrors the main narrative: a feared, mysterious figure (Stoner's Boy / Boo Radley) turns out to be harmless and kind when finally seen for who they truly are.

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12. 12

    Question 12. What does Scout's behavior toward Boo in this chapter reveal about her growth?

    • She still pictures Boo as the phantom of the children's games
    • She is imitating the way Jem has behaved toward Boo Radley
    • She has become more fearful of strangers since the attack
    • Correct answer: She has internalized Atticus's lessons about dignity and empathy

    Scout's instinct to preserve Boo's dignity by letting him appear to escort her, and her ability to see the world from his perspective, show she has deeply absorbed Atticus's moral teachings.

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13. 13

    Question 13. Why is it significant that Atticus is sitting by Jem's bed reading aloud?

    • It shows that Jem's injuries are far worse than Dr. Reynolds had first thought
    • Correct answer: It demonstrates Atticus's consistent, protective love as the novel closes
    • It reveals that Atticus is lonely now that the children are growing up
    • It means Jem has woken up and asked his father to read to him

    The image of Atticus reading by Jem's bedside reinforces his role as a steady, loving father and creates a sense of safety and normalcy after the violent events of the preceding chapters.

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14. 14

    Question 14. What structural technique does Harper Lee use by ending the novel with a reference to the events' beginning?

    • Deliberately unreliable narration
    • Epistolary narrative framing
    • Correct answer: Circular narrative structure
    • Stream-of-consciousness narration

    The novel opens with Scout reflecting on the events leading to Jem's broken arm and ends in the aftermath of that event, bringing the narrative full circle and giving the story a sense of completeness.

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